A processor die often requires capacitative power sources to respond to transient loads generated during operation. Capacitors are provided to answer the transient load requirements of the die. A thin-film capacitor (TFC) is typically a dielectric disposed between two electrodes, and which was manufactured by laser drilling. Laser drilling is costly, time consuming, and subjects the structures of the TFC to significant uneven heat transients. High dielectric-constant (high-k) thin-film capacitors (TFCs) must be laser drilled or chemically etched after sintering to provide electrical contacts. These processes can affect the chemistry of the sintered high-k dielectrics. The laser drilling can create a non-uniform laser heat zone, or the etching chemistry can alter the high-k dielectric at and near the etch edge.
During conventional laser-drill processing through a sintered thin-film capacitor (TFC) dielectric layer to form a contact corridor, the extreme heat transient of the laser beam causes a heat-altered region at the cutting edge of the laser drill. The laser-drilled edge is subjected to an extreme heat transient because of the laser-drilling process, but opposite from the cut edge, the sintered TFC dielectric can remain unchanged from the sintering process. The conventional laser-drill process can cause the laser-drilled edge to change physically or chemically compared to the region that is distant from the laser-drilled edge. For example the laser-drilled edge can embrittle in comparison to the region that is distant from the laser-drilled edge. Thus, the heat-altered morphology of the laser-drilled edge can exhibit embrittlement signs caused in a sintered dielectric. The embrittlement can be determined by physical probing among other techniques. The laser-drilled edge can also have changed chemical qualities due to lost or altered materials caused by the extreme heat transient. Thus, the heat-altered morphology of the laser-drilled edge can exhibit chemical depletion signs in a sintered dielectric. The changed chemical qualities can be determined by microscopic techniques such as by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) or ionic-coupled plasma (ICP) analysis. And due to the extreme heat transient of the laser-drilling process, the laser-drilled edge can even have incorporated volatilized stray materials into the matrix of the TFC dielectric in comparison to the distant region. Thus, the heat-altered morphology of the laser-drilled edge can exhibit chemical addition signs in a sintered dielectric. The changed chemical qualities can be determined by microscopic techniques such as by SEM or ICP analysis.